As the year draws to a close we take this opportunity to remember with great affection those truly good and great people the world lost during 2023.

We are all poorer for the passing of people from the world of politics such as Bill Hayden and Simon Crean, and former US first lady Rosalynn Carter.

We’ll miss actors such as Michael Gambon, Glenda Jackson, Matthew Perry; entertainers Barry Humphries, Michael Parkinson; and singers Tina Turner, Harry Belafonte, Sinead O’Connor, Jimmy Buffet, Gordon Lightfoot, Renee Geyer, and Tony Bennett.

AFL legend Ron Barassi will never be replaced in the hearts of our nation, nor artist John Olsen, or cartoonist Bruce Petty.

In 2023 the Catholic Church in Australia also lost a true titan, leader, and selfless servant of the people with the death of Father Bob Maguire. George Pell also carked.

But at this time of year we feel it’s just as important to remember those who are sadly still with us.

Here is just a handful of those on our list whom we had hoped might not see 2024:

Donald Trump – a truly malignant, destructive, and dangerous individual whose only talent is being malignant, destructive, and dangerous.

Pretty much everyone in the US Republican Party leadership – for tolerating Donald Trump’s mere presence in their party.

Rupert Murdoch – for the noxious effect his personal and corporate greed has had on democracy by preferencing profits over truth.

Vladimir Putin – for wanting to take Russia forward to 1989 and for teaching Benjamin Netanyahu all he knows.

Elon Musk – for being a free speech advocate whose social media forum preferences extremist authoritarians who’d gladly wipe out free speech.

Boris Johnson – what has he actually ever achieved for the greater good? Anyone?

Tragically none of those was taken from us over the past 12 months.

We encourage our readers to make their own list, check it twice, and look forward with optimism to crossing off names as soon as possible in 2024.

On a brighter note, thankfully this year we can scrub unconvicted war criminal Henry Kissinger (below) off our list, although the bloodthirsty fucker did make us wait a long time.

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